Re: sims 3 64bit light issue

@HersheyOlive  Please list the full specs of your Mac: everything under About This Mac including the OS and except for the serial number.

Hi! 

MacBook Pro

13 inch 2019, two thunderbolt 3 ports

processor: 1.4Hz Quad-Core Intel Core i5

Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 1536 MB

Memory: 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3

Mac OS: 15.1.1 (24B91)

Not sure if this is useful info but I edited my graphicsrules.srg file to make the game recognize my gpu (thanks to an old thread you solved!), let me know if theres anything else you need to know!

I figured out that if i turn off advanced rendering i can turn the lighting setting on medium but the shadows wont appear (first screenshot), the second screenshot shows what im trying to get in my game, which only happens with medium setting lighting and advanced rendering both on, which breaks my game after a few mins. The good settings work until about 11:45 in game time before it freezes, the screen turns white, and the game becomes unplayable. I can run it decently using low shadows and advanced rendering but it looks like the first screenshot. playing around with settings and lighting mods (improved environmental shadows and amber puggle lighting mod) i was able to get the medium light setting and advanced rendering shadows to work, but i dont think i play tested it long enough.

@HersheyOlive  Your Mac's graphics chip is the minimum requirement for 64-bit Sims 3, which means you can play but perhaps with some compromises, as you're seeing.  If you're happy with the third-party tools you've found, great, there's no reason to look further.  But if you'd like to tinker a bit more, editing GraphicsRules.sgr may help.

Find the Sims 3.app wherever you've installed it, likely in Applications > EA Games.  Right-click it and select Show Package Contents, then open this:

Contents > Resources > The Sims 3 [right-click, Show Package Contents] > Contents > Resources

Open GraphicsRules.sgr (TextEdit is fine) and search for advanced , which should take you to this:

option AdvancedRendering
setting $Off
prop $ConfigGroup RenderForceMinspecShaders 1
prop $ConfigGroup TerrainLODMode 1
prop $ConfigGroup RenderPostProcessEnabled false
prop $ConfigGroup RenderShadowsEnabled false
prop $ConfigGroup CullUndergroundBuildBuyStructures 0
setting $On
prop $ConfigGroup RenderForceMinspecShaders 0
prop $ConfigGroup TerrainLODMode 0
prop $ConfigGroup CullUndergroundBuildBuyStructures 0

end

You can edit one setting at a time, 1 to 0 or false to true, and see whether it gives you the effects you want without making the game crash again.